EXCEPTIONS IN EQUITY (THIRD PARTY RIGHTS AGAINST PRIVITY RULE)

A contracting party can specify that the benefit of the contract is held by him or her in trust for a third party, in which case that third party will have enforceable rights to the benefit. At one point the courts seemed willing to imply such a trust where there seemed to be an intention to create one, even though there was no specific reference to a trust in the contract. This was the case in Les Affreteurs Reunis SA v Walford (1919).

However, in the case of Green v Russell (1959), the courts have shown unwillingness to assume such a trust unless there is a clear intention to that effect, as they intimate that mere intention to benefit a third party is not enough by itself.

Restrictive Covenants

Restrictive covenants concerning land avoid the privity doctrine just like statutes. The case of Tulk v Moxhay (1848) is illustrative of this position.

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